# warpedplant vs. Totodile



## Eta Carinae (May 21, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


[size=+2]*warpedplant vs Totodile*[/size]

*warpedplant's active squad*

 *Jess* the female Cyndaquil <Blaze>
 *Havrey* the male Spinarak <Insomnia>
 *Joe* the male Frillish <Cursed Body>
 *Anna* the female Gothita <Frisk>
 *Frank* the male Hoppip <Leaf Guard>


*Totodile's active squad*

 *Camazotz* the female Zubat <Inner Focus> @ Black Sludge
 *Anput* the female Riolu <Inner Focus> @ Razor Claw
 *Sin* the male Cleffa <Magic Guard> @ Soothe Bell
 *Perry* the male Honedge <No Guard> @ Dusk Stone
 *Wrath* the female Deino <Hustle> @ Lucky Egg
 *Poe* the female Pancham <Iron Fist> @ Muscle Band
 *Roxy* the female Houndour <Flash Fire> @ Absorb Bulb
 *Fluttershy* the female Eevee <Adaptability> @ Soothe Bell
 *Applejack* the female Eevee <Adaptability> @ Lucky Egg
 *Rarity* the female Eevee <Adaptability> @ Water Stone

The mighty RNG says warpedplant sends out first!


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## warpedplant (May 21, 2015)

Havrey the Spinarak shall do nicely.


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## Totodile (May 21, 2015)

I'll send out my good friend, Applejack!

Okay, AJ, set up a Reflect first. Then use Body Slam a couple times. However, if you're trapped in an Infestation, use Flail to free yourself. If he Protects, use Focus Energy.

*Reflect ~ Body Slam/Flail/Focus Energy x2*


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## warpedplant (May 21, 2015)

Okay, start off with toxic. Now, being paralyzed is not good, so use infestation to prevent paralysis. On the final turn, start digging.

*Toxic~Infestation~Dig*


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## Eta Carinae (May 22, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 1*

warpedplant OO






Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Commands: Toxic ~ Infestation ~ Dig
Status: Clicking his mandibles excitedly.

Totodile OO






Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Reflect ~ Body Slam/Flail/Focus Energy x2
Status: Bracing against the ocean breeze.

The landscape was almost materially fresh, the crispness of the salt in the air nearly tangible.  Three Pokemon trainers traipsed through the tranquil landscape, taking care to step only on stable rocks as they approached their battleground.  Upon approaching a fairly barren swath of land, two of the trainers took places on either side of the expanse, the third presiding from the centre of the clearing.  The combatants quickly materialized in the sand.  On one side of the arena stood an eye-catching arachnid, cute with his beady eyes to some, grotesque with his abundance of legs to others.  Across from him stood a much less polarizing creature.  A plain Eevee, shivering a little in the wind, was the challenger.  The third trainer, having not sent out a Pokemon, blew his whistle three times in quick succession.  The battle had begun.

Applejack, the brown feline, was first to act.  Worried about the possibility of being trapped in those spindly legs, the Eevee generated a shimmering shield of energy around her.  The golden dome was made of nothing physical, yet as a few specks of dust were blown into it they were slowed to an ambling pace, as if transitioning from air to water.  From Havrey the Spinarak’s point of view, Applejack was now a spectre, hidden behind her sparkling wall of light.  Still, he was confident that no amount of energy was going to stop him from completing his hunt.

In his mouth he began to secrete his favourite poison, a toxic substance used to kill his prey.  Applejack was far too big for him to accomplish such a result, but such a potent mixture was sure to cause some pain.  Alas, he needed some way of getting the solution into Applejack’s bloodstream without scurrying over there himself.  Whereas many others using the move may have simply trusted themselves to spit it on to their opponents, Havrey felt much more comfortable trusting in his natural abilities.  Therefore, he shot a strand of spider silk at Applejack through the barrier, the cord bright purple from being tainted by the toxins.  The whip of silk was right on target, meaning that as it fell it landed right upon Applejack’s head, drooping over her face and tail.  Quickly the murk transferred, tinging the Eevee’s fur purple for a few moments.  Yet the salivary cocktail was quick, and in no time at all it had penetrated her skin and weaseled into her bloodstream.  Applejack shook off the cable, but the deed was done.  As she moved to rid herself of the string, she felt the slightest pang as the toxins did their work.

Not wishing to dwell on her faltering constitution, Applejack burst forth from out of the dome, clearly not hindered by its effects.  Dodging the loose stones on the beach, she found a clear enough patch that she could use as a runway.  Once a certain area caught her fancy, she charged down it and flew into the air, blotting out the sun from Havrey’s view for a split second.  The Eevee came down in a majestic bellyflop, but it wasn’t until she struck Havrey were their sizes truly compared.  While it was doubtless that being pancaked like that would hurt, Havrey was actually larger than Applejack, and heavier as well.  He sunk to the ground by a few inches, but was able to quickly shake Applejack off after the initial blow.  The arachnophobic referee grimaced in response.  This job wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

And it only got better from there.  Havrey tilted his head to the sky and clacked his mandibles three times, reverberating surprisingly loudly, even with the cresting of waves still audible from a few metres away.  At first, the arena remained still, everyone waiting for some activity.  Soon, their wish was granted.  From under the rocks, between the folds in the sea weed, and in tiny holes in the sand, miniscule bugs began to hop up and around Havrey.  They were naught but tiny sand fleas, but the sheer number was enough to unnerve all but Havrey, who seemed quite comfortable amongst his brethren.  Another sharp click and the beach hoppers took off, determined to crash headfirst into the shield.  Suprisingly, the barricade provided no protection in the instance, each of the little crustaceans finding imperfections in the wall to hop through.  Now they could see Applejack clearly, and they hungrily bounced towards her, where they dug their tiny teeth in for a wild ride.  The referee was glad he couldn’t see what was going on.

For Applejack, the bugs were more of an annoyance than torture.  Still, she would happily be rid of them as quickly as she could.  Not needing much encouragement from her trainer, she frantically started to shake her entire body, trying to dislodge as many of the pests as she could.  She succeeded in dislodging about half, each of which retreated back into the sand with their quests coming to an end.  A fair few still hung on however, Applejack’s weak panic not enough to put a stopper on their determination.  Havrey was happy to see his soldiers perform so valiantly, but now it was time for him to take a quick leave.  While Applejack continued to struggle with the invaders, Havrey put each of his six legs to work on the sand below him.  Soon he was in a sizable hole, and as the round ended, he was safely underground, wrapped in pitch darkness while his opponent still wrestled with the beach bugs.
*
End of Round 1*

warpedplant OO






Health: 88%
Energy: 94%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Status: A bit disoriented.  Underground

Totodile OO






Health: 95%
Energy: 90%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Pissed off.  Badly poisoned (1% this round, 2% the next), trapped in a half-Infestation (3 more actions)

Arena Notes:
-N/A

Ref Notes:
-Reflect took extra energy (initially) due to Adaptability, whereas Body Slam did extra damage
-Toxic couldn’t miss due to Havrey’s typing
-Infestation was a critical hit, which meant along with extra damage I automatically put it at a 5-turn duration
-Also it’s surprisingly a special move, so it would have bypassed Reflect anyways
-As Flail would be at such a low power this early in the battle, I had it only knock off about half of the bugs.  From that point, Infestation will do 2% damage over the next 4 actions as opposed to 4%.  That means ½% from the third action, which I didn’t put in Applejack’s final health, but will be accounted for once the next action of Infestation finishes
-I interpreted “start digging” as merely getting underground, not completing the attack
-No tunnel is present because sand tends to collapse into holes
-Sorry if I referred to Havrey as Harvey at any point
-warpedplant to command next


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## warpedplant (May 22, 2015)

Okay, Havrey, you did pretty good. She managed to out damage you, but you did set up some statuses.  Now, instead of completing the dig, taunt AJ. Then, block the entrance to the hole with a electroweb. Next, use a venoshock, or hone claws if you can't hit her.

*Taunt~Electroweb~Venoshock/Hone Claws*


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## Totodile (May 22, 2015)

Spinarak doesn't learn Taunt, so I think we're good here. First, Refresh to get rid of that nasty poison. Then Work yourself Up twice.

*Refresh ~ Work Up x2*


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## Eta Carinae (May 24, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 2*

warpedplant OO






Health: 88%
Energy: 94%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Commands: Taunt ~ Electroweb ~ Venoshock/Hone Claws
Status: A bit disoriented.  Underground

Totodile OO






Health: 95%
Energy: 90%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Refresh ~ Work Up x2
Status: Pissed off.  Reflect active (2 more actions), Badly poisoned (1% this round, 2% the next), trapped in a half-Infestation (3 more actions)

As the creepy crawlies continued to chow down on her immaculate coat, Applejack got to work on her cleanse.  She shut her eyes and tried to ignore the tiny teeth attacking her.  After a few deep breaths, a healthy, yellow aura appeared around her.  Though it did nothing to deter the bugs, the toxins within her body were neutralized in a quick and grand operation.  As Applejack’s immune system kicked into overdrive, the poison that had seeped into her bloodstream was eradicated with inhuman efficiency.  Applejack reopened her eyes with a warm smile on her face.  She had one less thing to worry about.  From deep underground, Havrey was having no such luck.  His trainer had asked him to do… something?  He wouldn’t quickly admit it, but he had no idea what his course of action should be.  Luckily, his trainer couldn’t see him, so he faced little guilt for merely pacing around his little hideout for a few seconds.

Still a bit nervous that she was leaving herself open to a sneak attack, Applejack continued to prepare herself for when Havrey finally did decide to surface.  She engaged in a few more focused breathing exercises and started stretching out her muscles.  She pawed the ground with apprehension and dislodged a few more critters, though many were leaving from simply having eaten their full.  Inside her mind, she was working to eliminate all pessimistic thought.  She was dedicated to re-boosting her self-confidence, and that meant reiterating how awesome she was over and over until it became ingrained in her brain.

Havrey could see none of this, but at the moment his opponent didn’t matter much.  He was safe underground, at least for the moment.  Facing away from where he dug, he began to fire off strands of silk from each of the glands in his abdomen.  Though the hole that he had burrowed had been refilled with sand since he had formed the tunnel, he was still able to construct a miniature web along the edge of his cavern.  He worked with fervor to make up for his inaction a few moments prior.  Each strand of silk that he added to the wall was slightly electrified.  The web he was building would already have no trouble trapping anyone who tried to advance through it, but with the added charges, a trespasser would get a nasty zap as well.  Though he could not see the results of his work, once finished Havrey was impressed with the traps he had set up in case Applejack decided to come knocking.

The aforementioned Eevee had no such intentions.  She was content to continue readying herself for Havrey’s emergence.  As she continued to perform warm-up exercises, the last of her pests hopped off and buried themselves back in the dunes.  She was relieved, as she could now concentrate fully on the task at hand.  Slightly upsetting was the disappearance of her golden dome.  It flickered a couple of times, as if trying to remain without Applejack pouring energy into it, but it soon melted away, leaving the Eevee even more exposed.  Havrey, from below, was still neglecting to attack Applejack.  Having gathered that a Venoshock would be hopeless without a clear shot at Applejack, he instead felt around, looking for a smooth rock.  Eventually finding one embedded in the tunnel above his head, he used it as a whetstone, running his claws back and forth over the surface.  As he worked, the points of his legs became more and more fine.  Pleased with his primitive nail file, he took his legs off of the rock and resumed the waiting game once more.

*End of Round 2*

warpedplant OO






Health: 88%
Energy: 88%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Status: Starting to bore.  Attack +1, Accuracy +1, Underground

Totodile OO






Health: 93%
Energy: 83%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Keeping her guard up.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2

Arena Notes:
-N/A

Ref Notes:
-Sorry I forgot to mention Reflect in the end of round summary before.  Luckily it did not matter
-Totodile is correct, Spinarak does not learn Taunt, and it would not have worked from underground anyways
-As I mentioned in my notes from last round, the hole that Havrey created was filled up by sand, so the Electroweb was placed against the edge of his mini-cave, not on the opening of the hole
-Reflect and Infestation technically ended at different times, they were just together for flavour
-Venoshock would not have worked because of the aforementioned hole issue
-Totodile commands next


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## Totodile (May 25, 2015)

If he's still underground, or if he's otherwise unhittable, use Focus Energy, or Work Up if you've already used Focus Energy. If you can hit him, go with Hyper Voice.

*Focus Energy/Work Up/Hyper Voice x3*


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## warpedplant (May 25, 2015)

Okay, I don't know were your ears are, but plug them with sand. Then unleash dig, but try to combine it with toxic. Finish up with foul play.

*Plug Ears~Dig+Toxic~Foul Play*


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## Eta Carinae (May 27, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 3*

warpedplant OO






Health: 88%
Energy: 88%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Commands: Dig ~ Toxic ~ Foul Play
Status: Starting to bore.  Attack +1, Accuracy +1, Underground

Totodile OO






Health: 93%
Energy: 83%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Focus Energy/Work Up/Hyper Voice x3
Status: Keeping her guard up.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2

Applejack was very much settling into a routine.  This time, the exercise was going to be a lot more calming, less of a pep rally inside her mind.  She shut her eyes and gathered her thoughts once more, making sure to give priority to those that would help her with the battle.  In her mind she recited the height, weight, ability, and moveset of Spinarak, analyzing and looking for weaknesses.  There was no better time than the present to commit all of that information to memory, and so she repeated it over and over, the tiniest inkling in the back of her mind telling her that Havrey could strike at any moment.

Below ground, Havrey was having a little bit of a crisis.  His trainer had again given him an order that he wasn’t sure how to follow.  He could certainly dig back up towards the fresh air, but he wasn’t sure exactly what orifice the “ear” was.  He was fairly familiar with his body, and he had nothing that he would call an ear.  Eventually he decided that if he didn’t know what it was, that meant that the hole didn’t exist, and it therefore was filled.  With this rationalization still fresh in his mind, he began to reach for the surface again, each of his legs clawing furiously at the sand.  When he did escape, he found himself just behind Applejack.  Taking no time to dillydally, he promptly leaped onto the Eevee, knocking her into the sand and further dirtying her coat.  Applejack was in a state of near-mental equilibrium, but she was still thrown off as she tackled and sent sprawling.  Havrey, pleased, hopped back up and scuttled over to his original place on the beach.

Applejack angrily shook sand from her fur.  Now the little brat wanted to play, it seemed.  Well, she was happy to join in on the fun.  She opened her mouth wide and let loose an incomprehensible caterwaul.  The sound was so powerful that even the referee and trainers were forced backwards as if by a gale-force wind.  The impact on Havrey was hard to imagine.  The soundwaves ripped through his fragile body, promptly tossing him backwards with the sand that was also being kicked up and blasted away.  The titanic emission lasted for only ten seconds, but in that time Havrey nearly lost his sense of balance, his mind so rattled by the scream.  He wobbled as he got to his feet, trying to stay focused so as to continue with the battle.

He shook his heads a few times, relishing in the lack of noise but the gentle crashing of waves.  Again he widened his mandibles and shot out a thin wire, his own multi-purpose silk.  The strand was just as toxic as before, and his aim was just as true, the silk splattering agains Applejack’s face and efficiently transferring its contents into her veins.  Applejack sighed at the repetitiveness; she was tired of being ill.  Luckily, she could voice her displeasure.  Rearing up she belted again, more sound waves ripping through the arena, this time sending a couple of rocks flying backwards.  Havrey, though more prepared, was still lifted from his feet and on to his back, where he tried to find some way to block out the pain.  Alas, the vibrations were relentless.  He got up much more slowly this time, his addled brain aching for a rest.

Applejack was starting to feel positive again; clearly her onslaught was proving effective.  And now it looked like her opponent wanted more.  Preposterous!  But indeed, Havrey had lifted two of his legs into the arm, and he seemed to be asking Applejack to come hither.  Still high on adrenaline, Applejack was ready to heed the arachnid’s request.  Having no orders to follow, she was simply looking to run him into the ground.  However, in her state of euphoria, her judgement had been tampered with.  As she controversially charged, Havrey held his ground until the end.  Once she was only inches again, the Spinarak deked left, and Applejack was left to hurtle into a stone imbedded in the beach.  There was no time to halt, and Applejack ran right into it, tripping and falling flat on her face.  The Eevee slowly rose to see Havrey looking as innocent as always.  She wasn;t trying that again.

*End of Round 3*

warpedplant OO






Health: 58%
Energy: 78%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Status: Still shaking.  Attack +1, Accuracy +1

Totodile OO






Health: 72%
Energy: 70%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Feeling a bit of a strain in her vocal cords.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Badly poisoned (1% this round, 2% the next)

Arena Notes:
-N/A

Ref Notes:
-I actually did some spider research with regards to clogging ears.  Apparently, spiders don’t have ears, they hear by feeling vibrations in their legs.  I figured a Spinarak would follow similar principles, so filling his ears with sand failed as he possessed no such body parts.  Even if he could have, this would not have accomplished the desired effect because of how spiders detect noise
-warpedplant commands next


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## warpedplant (May 28, 2015)

Okay, at this point, I think we need to switch tatics. Just try to out damage with venoshock, if she heals with refresh, switch to megahorn. If she can't be hit, use agility.

*Venoshock/Megahorn/Agility x3 *


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## Totodile (May 28, 2015)

(Is Applejack Focus Energy'd? The post-round notes don't say.)

I guess he really wants us to stay poisoned. Okay, we can change our plans too. Use Facade a lot: that should deal more damage than even a boosted Venoshock. If you hit the damage cap, use Sand Attack instead.

*Facade/Sand Attack x3*


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## Eta Carinae (Jun 3, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 4*

warpedplant OO






Health: 58%
Energy: 78%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Commands: Venoshock/Megahorn/Agility x3
Status: Still shaking.  Attack +1, Accuracy +1

Totodile OO






Health: 72%
Energy: 70%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Façade/Sand-Attack x3
Status: Feeling a bit of a strain in her vocal cords.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (1% this round, 2% the next)

Applejack wasn’t going to be the victim of any more nasty tricks.  She was taking matters into her own paws.  Havrey was hers for the taking, and if the little pest had to resort to cheap tactics, so be it.  She could rely on her superior strength.  With many an angry thought still whistling through her head, she dropped her common visage, doing away with the “cute pet” look and instead embracing her inner frenzied beast.  She bared her teeth in a ferocious snarl, and let drool descend to the sand.  Growling with a surprising ferocity, she burst forth towards Havrey, who was finally starting to appreciate some peace and quiet.  The Spinarak, startled, tried to scuttle away, but Applejack was unrelenting.  She overtook the arachnid with a few bounding strides and pounced upon her prey.  Rather than be content with the tackle, she began to throw a flurry of paw-punches into his fragile back.  Havrey clicked his mandibles in a panic as he felt himself being pushed into the sand, each granule rough against his tender underbelly.  When her knuckles began to hurt from the effort, Applejack finally backed off, leaving Havrey to extract himself from his imprint on the beach.

Straining to push himself back onto his feet, Havrey refocused on Applejack, who still looked quite threatening.  He was out to prove that he could be a threat as well.  He had some natural talents that he could put to wonderful use as well, particularly techniques involving the glands that fed his venom.  Aligning his mouth with Applejack’s demented face, he summoned a concoction in his mouth.  He was quick to spit it out before he inflamed his own palate.  It came out as a streamlined glob of purple goo, less viscous than his two toxic blobs from before.  The poison landed on Applejack’s face, temporarily replacing her livid demeanor with one of shock.  The solution was at first not particularly painful.  Applejack flinched from the initial contact, but now the liquid seemed to only be stinging a bit and quickly disappearing into her skin.  In a matter of seconds her opinion was flipped on its head.  As the poison receded into her muscle tissue it came into contact with the noxious substance from earlier, and the results were noticeable.  A wave of agony swept through all of Applejack’s body, and she doubled down.  Havrey watched on with cruel elation, amazed with the wonders of simple chemistry.

The scorching sensation did help Applejack in the sense that she had even more anger to fuel her charges.  Fighting back the tears that came from the pain, she jolted forward again, the lactic acid produced helping to displace toxin that seemed to still be exploding within her flesh.  She slammed into Havrey again, this time bent on an even richer pummeling.  She flashed a demonic grin as she grabbed a jagged stone sitting beside Havrey.  The Spinarak let out a high-pitched screech as Applejack was not content to merely punch the poor spider.  She was bludgeoning his back with the rock, and it was awful for him.  Soon his abdomen was covered in numerous scratches and abrasions from the torture.  Starting to feel quite weak, he wrestled himself free before more damage could be done.  Anger now fueling through his veins as well, he coughed up a never splattering of caustic chemicals, these ones quickly spread out across Applejack’s flank.  The Eevee again felt her knees buckle from the anguish, though she did take some relief in Havrey’s condition.  Covered in a wide assortment of minor injuries, he didn’t look like he could last much longer.

Through the raging fury quickly enveloping her brain, Applejack was presented with a decision.  Her trainer had asked her to berserk until Havrey hit the damage cap, but she was lost as to what that looked like.  Was the ref going to step in?  Were his attacks going to be stopped by some magic forcefield?  Did that mean the Spinarak was eventually going to strike a poor, unsuspecting headpiece?  Lost, Applejack played a quick game of eenie-meenie-minie-moe in her head, letting fate decide what she was to do.  This gave way to an action that she could agree with; Havrey had been hurt enough.  Instead, she was content to try and prevent Havrey from injuring her anymore.  Still appearing as if she was going to hurtle forward for a third time, she was able to surprise Havrey by stopping short and kicking a heap of sand right into his face.  He squirmed and reached with his claws to his eyes, but there was no way he could displace all of the particles.  Having to blink a lot more than normal, he nonetheless hit Applejack with another blast of chemicals, these ones giving her tail an off putting purple shade.

*End of Round 4*

warpedplant OO






Health: 18% [CAPPED]
Energy: 57%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Status: Battered and bruised.  Attack +1

Totodile OO






Health: 32% [CAPPED]
Energy: 54%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Starting to reach for the finish line.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (2% this round, 3% the next)

Arena Notes:
-N/A

Ref Notes:
-Yes, Applejack’s Focus Energy was still in effect, sorry about missing that
-The second Façade was a critical hit
-Havrey hit the Damage Cap on the second action
-I generally don’t think Pokemon are able to tell if their opponents have hit the Damage Cap, so Applejack performed a random move from those commanded on Action 3.  You got lucky Totodile, as she did go with Sand Attack.
-Which cost extra energy due to Adapatability
-Applejack his the Damage Cap on the third action
-Totodile commands next


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## Totodile (Jun 3, 2015)

I guess it would be kind of hard for a Pokemon to tell. (Also, Havrey's accuracy should be sitting at 0?)

We're in the home stretch, Applejack. Hit him with more Facades until he goes down. If he Protects, use Refresh and then switch to Last Resort.

*Facade/Refresh/Last Resort x3*


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## warpedplant (Jun 4, 2015)

Well, that went horribly.

Okay, we can still try to even the gap. Now, she has commands for protect, but not for dig. Dig down to score some extra poison damage, as you are technically not protecting, so she'll just be stuck doing nothing. Try to use an infestation from down there, then try to combine megahorn with dig. (If "not technically protecting" is too much of a stretch, just megahorn.)

*Charge Dig/Megahorn~Infestation/Megahorn~Dig+Megahorn/Megahorn*


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## warpedplant (Jun 13, 2015)

It's been over a week.


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## Eta Carinae (Jun 15, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 5*

warpedplant OO






Health: 18%
Energy: 57%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Status: Battered and bruised.  Attack +1

Totodile OO






Health: 32%
Energy: 54%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Starting to reach for the finish line.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (2% this round, 3% the next)

Havrey furiously tried to begin burrowing into the ground again, where he knew he would be safe in his own cramped hole.  Applejack was far too quick for him however, and was bounding forward again in a flash, not breaking her laser-like stare, unwavering upon Havrey’s abdomen.  With a zealous cry signalling imminent victory, Applejack hurled herself into Havrey’s hastily disappearing body.  The impact drove the spider into the sand for several feet, but he had been unconscious before his body had even hit the sand.  Eyes now closed, his legs became rigid and crumpled, and warpedplant recalled him dejectedly.

*End of Round 5*

warpedplant OO






Health: 0%
Energy: 57%
(Havrey) Spinarak [M] <Insomnia>
Status: KO’d!

Totodile OO






Health: 31%
Energy: 47%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Hooting and hollering, but still just as adorable.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (3% this round, 4% the next)

Arena Notes:
-N/A

Ref Notes:
-Yes, it was over a week, and I am quite sorry for that.  I don’t have an excuse, especially for such a short round.  I can promise you it won’t take this long again though
-An Adaptability boosted, +2 Attack, Poison-inflicted Façade was more than enough to knock out Havrey for good
-Technically, poison damage is divvied up over the round, so Applejack only took 1% damage this round, as she was only being affected for one action.  The counter still rose as usual.
-warpedplant sends out and command next


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## warpedplant (Jun 15, 2015)

I think I'll go with Joe.

Okay, start with acid armor, then do a rain dance. then, finish her off with a water spout, But if she Protects, try Safeguard.

*Acid Armor~Rain Dance~Water Spout/Safeguard*


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## Totodile (Jun 15, 2015)

Well, normal moves won't do us much good here, so we'll have to use what we can. Bite him first, and then use Shadow Ball. Lastly, sneak in a Sunny Day before he can Water Spout you.

*Bite ~ Shadow Ball ~ Sunny Day*


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## Eta Carinae (Jun 24, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 6*

warpedplant XO






Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
(Joe) Frillish [M] <Cursed Body>
Commands: Acid Armor ~ Rain Dance ~ Water Spout/Safeguard
Status: Edging hopefully towards the ocean.

Totodile OO






Health: 31%
Energy: 47%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Bite ~ Shadow Ball ~ Sunny Day
Status: Hooting and hollering, but still just as adorable.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (3% this round, 4% the next)

Applejack didn’t have to wait long for her next opponent to take the stage.  A second Pokeball was quickly in warpedplant’s hand, and from within it came a wispy, fragile looking creature.  In form it seemed to resemble a squid, but it showed a fair amount of cephalization.  It bore a look of minor fear from the second it took its place on the battlefield, and it hardly moved excepting its four flowing tentacles.  One of these tentacles seemed to be on a collision course for a larger rock resting in the sand, but the Frillish did not even look over as its limb phased through the impediment, no scratches on either stone or arm.  Applejack could quickly identify her opponent as a ghost-type.  That would prove to be an issue.

Still, Applejack did have a moveset she could utilize against Joe the Frillish.  Scampering forward with a bit less pace than earlier in the match, she opened her mouth wide and let her baby teeth show.  They were not particularly imposing at first, but as she continued to charge, a dark, fluid goop began to coat her mandibles.  Joe, fresh out of his trainer’s belt, was already nervous from seeing the coming attack.  When Applejack reached Joe, she hastily clamped her jaws down in the midriff of the Frillish, letting the dark energy seep into his gelatinous flesh.  Applejack shook Joe around a couple of times to empty all of the liquid into his form, before she darted away.  Even as the Eevee backed away, Joe continued to wince and inspect his wound.  It almost looked as if he hadn’t been ready for battle in the first place.

Applejack was more than happy to accept the gift given by Joe.  Now it was time to fight fire with fire, or ghost with ghost as the case may have been.  A swirling ball of violet energy began to form in front of Applejack’s now spotless maw.  The Eevee was doing all of the work to generate the sphere, pouring energy into it that she was not particularly familiar with.  As the orb grew larger and larger its revolutions picked up speed.  Finally, when Applejack felt she could control the burst no more, she fired away, the ball hurtling across the beach, kicking up sand and loose pebbles as it zoomed past.  Joe hadn’t paid Applejack any heed for quite a few moments now, so he was quite shocked when this pulse came through.  Unprepared, he made no attempt to dodge.  As a result, he endured additional suffering, with the sphere colliding directly with the open bite wounds from the prior action.  Tears started to form in Joe’s eyes, the white hot pain coming so quickly after his entrance.  He held them back and blinked a couple times, absentmindedness now transforming into anger.

Flashing his trainer a reproachful look on account of the non-aggressive command he had been given, Joe nonetheless began to swish his arms and tentacles around his body, letting some ethereal power keep him balanced and rooted in place.  Sea spray that had been mingling towards the battlers started to be caught up in Joe’s whipping dance.  He sped up the motions and began to hum, low and long.  His eyes trained on the sky, an assortment of clouds began to move in from the east, dark and brooding.  One by one they moved into position in front of the comfortable sun, shading the arena slightly.  As soon as the sky was entirely overcast, thick drops of water began to cascade from the sky, quickly muddying the ground and weighing down Applejack’s fur.

The Eevee was not too long deterred.  Rather than let herself be hampered by the rain now pounding against her body, she instead chose to quickly shake herself out and engage in a dance of her own.  Whereas Joe’s routine had been slow and fluid, Applejack’s was energetic and haphazard.  She bounded across the arena, striking poses with her paws and kicking up wet sand as she started to sweat from the effort.  As quickly as they had come, the rain drops plunging from the heavens started to shrink in size.  Soon the frequency of their splashes diminished as well, much to the chagrin of Joe.  As the rains ended entirely, the clouds dispersed as well, and in their place was a glorious look at the sun, now seeming to beat down with twice the heat as only minutes earlier.  It was as if Earth had been pulled out of its regular orbit and closer to the sun with Applejack’s dance.  Applejack’s coat dried off almost immediately, though the sweating certainly didn’t stop.

Joe, on the other hand, had a temper that was matching the blistering heat.  He could see the droplets he had hoped to utilize evaporating before his eyes.  Wasting no more time, he performed another couple of limb swirls to raise up the water he had summoned from out of the earth and off of the stones.  The amount little in such a small amount of time, he reached for some sea water to compensate, bringing it up out of the ocean in an amorphous glob and having it hover in his direction.  Soon he had quite a reservoir above his head, and with a tremendous upward swing of all six of his appendages, the liquid flew upwards before descending rapidly back in the direction of Applejack, all the while getting absorbed by the greedy sunbeams.  The vast shower hit and drove Applejack into the earth, but she was able to quickly recover, the volume of the blast not quite as impressive as Joe might have hoped.  Applejack, though quite sore, continued to grin.

*End of Round 6*

warpedplant XO






Health: 73%
Energy: 92%
(Joe) Frillish [M] <Cursed Body>
Status: Feeling thoroughly outwitted.

Totodile OO






Health: 18%
Energy: 30%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: Not letting a little water bring her down.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (4% this round, 5% the next)

Arena Notes:
-The sun is shining (8 more actions)

Ref Notes:
-Adaptability made everything cost more this round for Applejack
-Bite caused a flinch (which, fun fact, is the second time in two days I have reffed a dark type move flinching a male Frillish)
-Shadow Ball was a critical hit
-Totodile commands next


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## Totodile (Jun 24, 2015)

Great going, AJ! Let's keep doing what we can while we can. Use Shadow Ball some more, but if you can't use Shadow Ball, use Bite. If he Protects, go with Chill.

*Shadow Ball/Bite/Chill x3*


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## warpedplant (Jun 25, 2015)

Woo! Second page!

Okay, start with an Icy wind to get the speed advantage. Then, use giga drain twice, to drain health.

*Icy wind~Giga Drainx2*


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## Eta Carinae (Jun 30, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*Round 7*

warpedplant XO






Health: 73%
Energy: 92%
(Joe) Frillish [M] <Cursed Body>
Commands: Icy Wind ~ Giga Drain x2
Status: Feeling thoroughly outwitted.

Totodile OO






Health: 18%
Energy: 30%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Shadow Ball/Bite/Chill x3
Status: Not letting a little water bring her down.  Attack +2, Special Attack +2, Pumped up, Badly poisoned (4% this round, 5% the next)

Applejack knew she had limited time before she was finished, so it was her mission to inflict as much damage as she could before Joe pulled the trigger.  In a flash, she conjured a new ball of violet energy, spinning in the air like some fledgling black hole.  The energy ball, once released, screamed forward and singed Joe’s stretchy coating.  No flames were present on the orb, but the Frillish felt as if his skin had been burned, the ectoplasmic energy utilized by his opponent carrying quite a corrosive aftertaste.  Joe tried to ignore the pain and focus on his own plots.

Opening his mouth, he exhaled a gust of frigid energy, miniature ice crystals sparkling in the air before his face and travelling slowly towards Applejack.  The bluster pushed Applejack backwards, her claws instinctively looking for something to grasp in the slippery sand.  With nothing to brace against, the feline was gradually forced backwards by the Frillish-made zephyr.  The wind chilled Applejack to the bone, and for a few moments some of the ice crystals that had hovered in the air latched on to her pristine fur, locking her limbs and hampering her movement.  Within seconds, however, the crystals were gone.  The beating sun that shone over the battlefield would have no ice, no matter how minute.

Joe snarled in frustration, and was promptly met by another dark sphere, this one an impressive headshot that nearly flung him head over tentacles.  He did manage to hold his ground and his frown, which only entertained Applejack.  Alas, Joe was still committed.  He reached forward with all of his tentacles, almost like some biomagnetic force were drawing him towards Applejack.  At first, the Eevee felt nothing, but with a frightened mewl she cringed as small green orbs began to separate from her body, carrying her literal lifeforce.  She could feel this vitality being sucked away, but she was helpless to stop it.  Each of the orbs, smaller than Applejack’s Shadow Balls, floated towards Joe’s outstretched limbs, where they were absorbed, replenishing his own power.  As the onslaught finished, Applejack nearly fell on her face, now so weak.

Still, she was able to muster enough within herself to send a final shadowy orb towards Joe.  This last ball, still flying with the same considerable velocity, finally managed to make a mark on Joe’s skin.  The invisible flames scorched away some of Joe’s skin, leaving his gelatinous mass dangerously exposed.  Trying to cover the blemish with his arms, he again reached his tentacles towards Applejack, this time intent on finishing his job.  More green motes began to make the trek from one side of the beach to the other, but soon the orbs no longer appeared.  As the flow stopped, Applejack finally succumbed to the pain, and fell awkwardly into the dune, waiting for her trainer to recall her.

*End of Round 7*

warpedplant XO






Health: 37% [CAPPED]
Energy: 78%
(Joe) Frillish [M] <Cursed Body>
Status: Happy, but still aware of the situation.  Special Defense -1

Totodile XO






Health: 0%
Energy: 12%
(Applejack) Eevee [F] <Adaptability> @Lucky Egg
Status: KO’d!

Arena Notes:
-The sun is shining (5 more actions)

Ref Notes:
-Again, each Shadow Ball cost extra energy due to Adaptability
-Due to the sultry conditions, Icy Wind’s added effect of lowering speed did not come into effect.  For reference, I ref speed increases and decreases in 10 point increments, so even if the effect had come into play, Applejack would still have been faster
-The final Shadow Ball lowered Special Defense
-Joe hit the Damage Cap on the third action, but was able to recover some of the health lost thanks to the Giga Drains
-The final Giga Drain recovered less than the normal amount of health, as Applejack had less than 7% of her health remaining
-Totodile sends out, then warpedplant commands next


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## Totodile (Jun 30, 2015)

Applejack, you are a beast and I love you. Great work!

Let's see ... I think I'll go with Wrath this time.


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## warpedplant (Jun 30, 2015)

Huh. Frilish knows pain split? And i didn't ban it?

Okay, start with pain split. if she protects, acid armor, then pain split later. If she attacks, wait until she attacks before using pain split. Once you get done with that, use ice beam.

*Pain Split (Wait)/Acid Armor~Pain Split (Wait)/Ice Beam~Ice Beam*


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## Totodile (Jun 30, 2015)

All right, it looks like he'll be waiting to see what see what we do and so is letting us go first, which is nice of him. Set up a Sub to start off with, then fire off some Dark Pulses. If you can't use Dark Pulse on the third action, use Crunch instead.

*Substitute (10%) ~ Dark Pulse ~ Dark Pulse/Crunch*


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## warpedplant (Jul 3, 2015)

> All right, it looks like he'll be waiting to see what see what we do and so is letting us go first, which is nice of him.


Actually, the plan was to wait until after you attacked to make destiny bond more effective. didn't really work out, as you went with substitute.


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## Eta Carinae (Jul 7, 2015)

> Format:2 vs 2
> Style:Single
> DQ:One week.
> Damage Cap: 40%
> ...


*
Round 8*

warpedplant XO






Health: 37%
Energy: 78%
(Joe) Frillish [M] <Cursed Body>
Commands: Pain Split/Acid Armor ~ Pain Split/Ice Beam ~ Ice Beam
Status: Happy, but still aware of the situation.  Special Defense -1

Totodile XO






Health: 100%
Energy: 100%
(Wrath) Deino [F] <Hustle> @Lucky Egg
Commands: Substitute (10%) ~ Dark Pulse ~ Dark Pulse/Crunch
Status: Hastily ramming into things to get a feel for her surroundings.

Applejack was absorbed back into her Pokeball, her trainer wishing a speedy recovery.  Totodile was eager for a quick turnaround, so there was no delay in a replacement for Applejack taking the field.  Wrath the Deino was next up.  Having no eyes, she spent no time surveying the arena, instead electing to barge into as many objects as she could in her general vicinity.  Joe absentmindedly let one of his tentacles brush the sand, and Wrath immediately perked up and turned towards the Frillish.  She gave a few sniffs at the air and scuffed at the ground, doing her best to mark the position of her opponent.  Arena vaguely sketched in her head and enemy identified, Wrath was ready to roll.

Both Pokemon were nearly even when it came to speed, but Joe had been ordered to wait and watch for a specific moment.  That he did, leveling an unblinking stare at Wrath, who had no idea she was being so closely inspected.  Oblivious, Wrath began to hoard some sand together, digging deep past the burnt grains on top to access the wet particles that would better mold together.  Joe, still unsure of his opponent’s intentions, could not yet move.  When Wrath amassed enough material and did not decide to fling it at Joe, sculpting it instead, Joe decided it was time to take his calculated risk.  He began to prepare a mental probe, one he could send towards Wrath so as to form a mental connection between the two.  He was in a race against time, trying to frantically find a way through to the Deino’s primitive brain.  Wrath pummelled away at the mound of sand before her, doing her best to carve a likeness.  She was definitely no artist, so as she finished the sculpture, it was clear that only the rudimentary features had been shaped.  There were four legs, a head, and a sausage like horn.  Wrath was content.  As Joe continued to try and suck it away, Wrath began to pour some of her own lifeforce back into the doll.  It was a small amount, luckily not enough to give the figure a concept of beauty standards, but just the right amount to allow it to stand upright and hobble into the way of oncoming attacks.  Just as the dummy was completed, Joe managed to infiltrate Wrath’s brain, immediately encountering thoughts driven by pure rage as much as logic or instinct.  He experienced this hateful mindscape for only a fleeting second.  The substitute jammed Joe’s connection with Wrath’s thoughts, and he was promptly tossed back into his own, aching, self.

Joe was happy to attack anything that got in his way, now grasping for straws.  Rearing up, he started to generate a ball of icy-blue energy, nearly the same shade as the frilly trim on his arms.  When the ball had grown to nearly the size of his head, he let it burst open, releasing a beam of the exact same colour that shot across the beach towards Wrath.  Naturally, the Deino did not see it coming, but her comrade in arms did, playing the hero and diving in front of the beam.  The piece of art proved to be very short lived, as the beam absolutely annihilated the sculpture, throwing globs of sand every which way.  A couple struck Wrath, making her believe that she had perhaps been victimized by a Sand Attack.  Under this impression she grinned back at Joe, obviously not able to be blinded any more.

Trying to be optimistic in her own ignorance, Wrath struck back at Joe with a blast of her own.  Channelling her anger into a concentrated force, she roared as a wave of midnight-black energy exploded from her body, sweeping over the sand in every direction.  The pulse washed over Joe and made him shiver.  The burn on his side from Applejack’s last gasp still stung, especially after he was struck by the vindictive burst.  Wrath couldn’t tell whether her attack had been successful, Joe having not made any audible complaint.  Still, she was confident that such a wave would surely have struck.  Joe didn’t give Wrath much time to think her attack over.  He immediately retaliated with another icy laser that hurtled towards the Deino.  This time, Wrath had no shield to protect her.  The beam collided with her blue flank, nearly knocking her off balance and into the sand.  She managed to dig in her feet and stay upright, much to Joe’s chagrin.

Wrath thought back to her trainer’s orders and prepared herself for another attack.  Strangely, she realized that her trainer had ordered her to perform a move that she surely couldn’t use.  Oddly enough, the words seemed familiar, but she was quite positive that “Dark Pulse” wasn’t anything she had ever been taught.  Clearly her trainer had been prepared, giving her another command to work with if she needed.  Still, as she charged forward she couldn’t help but be slightly befuddled.  Not knowing exactly where Joe was, Wrath followed the temperature, the air where the Ice Beam had travelled still frigid and housing a few stray ice crystals that had yet to be eliminated by the beating sun.  As she sprinted across the dunes she opened her mouth wide and let black energy spill down and cover each of her teeth, leaving them as black as her fur.  She ran into Joe teeth first, and was ready to sink her jaws into the Frillish when she made contact.  She managed to bite Joe right at the joint between tentacle and midriff, causing the creature to squirm with pain.  Wrath did not linger long in her chomp, backing away as soon as she felt the dark energy had been exhausted.  As she wandered back to her place in the sand she went through another moment of bewilderment.  She could remember clearly having just inflicted damage upon Joe, but for the life of her she had no idea how she had done it.  Incredibly nervous from the sudden onset of amnesia, Wrath was strapped for confidence as she went back to listen to the next orders from her trainer.

*End of Round 8*

warpedplant XO






Health: 6%
Energy: 67%
(Joe) Frillish [M] <Cursed Body>
Status: Flipping in and out of consciousness.  Special Defense -1

Totodile XO






Health: 77%
Energy: 89%
(Wrath) Deino [F] <Hustle> @Lucky Egg
Status: Petrified.  Crunch disabled (3 more actions), Dark Pulse disabled (2 more actions)

Arena Notes:
-The sun is shining (2 more actions)

Ref Notes:
-Pain Split was blocked by Wrath’s substitute
-Cursed Body finally came into play this round, affecting both Dark Pulse and Crunch
-Totodile commands next


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## Totodile (Jul 7, 2015)

Ho boy. Well, keep throwing stuff at him. If he Protects, use Work Up.

*Bite/Work Up ~ Dragon Pulse/Work Up ~ Dark Pulse/Work Up*


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## Eifie (Jul 7, 2015)

Eta Carinae said:


> -The Substitute/Pain Split situation was a tough judgement call.  Eventually, I went with the perceived durations of the moves.  I ref Substitute as taking a fair amount of time, involving a Pokemon needing to amass a resource, sculpt it into a likeness of themselves, and give it some health to work with.  On the contrary, I feel like Pain Split would be nearly instantaneous, and would also be enough of a shock to stop a Pokemon from constructing a Substitute.  Also considering the fact that Joe is a smidgeon faster than Wrath, I thought it plausible for Joe to realize that Wrath was not going to attack him and start the Pain Split before Wrath’s substitute was completed.


Sorry to butt in, but that's not going to fly. When a Pokémon is given commands contingent on what its opponent is going to do that action, the trainer is giving up the chance for their Pokémon to move first in its priority bracket unless there are special circumstances like a significant speed difference combined with orders that are very quick to execute (and have been ordered to be carried out in a way to cut off the opponent). The speed difference here is almost nonexistent (only 2 points of speed in Joe's favour) and further, he wasn't specifically warned about Substitute, so it would have taken him even longer to puzzle out what to do. Pain Split and Substitute are in the same priority bracket, so Substitute can't be taking so long to execute that a slower Pokémon could use a move in the same priority bracket before it's finished.

Totodile may not mind, but the damage difference here is pretty significant and we definitely can't be setting a precedent with this, so I'm going to have to ask for that part to be reworked.


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## Eta Carinae (Jul 7, 2015)

Eifie said:


> Sorry to butt in, but that's not going to fly. When a Pokémon is given commands contingent on what its opponent is going to do that action, the trainer is giving up the chance for their Pokémon to move first in its priority bracket unless there are special circumstances like a significant speed difference combined with orders that are very quick to execute (and have been ordered to be carried out in a way to cut off the opponent). The speed difference here is almost nonexistent (only 2 points of speed in Joe's favour) and further, he wasn't specifically warned about Substitute, so it would have taken him even longer to puzzle out what to do. Pain Split and Substitute are in the same priority bracket, so Substitute can't be taking so long to execute that a slower Pokémon could use a move in the same priority bracket before it's finished.
> 
> Totodile may not mind, but the damage difference here is pretty significant and we definitely can't be setting a precedent with this, so I'm going to have to ask for that part to be reworked.


Point taken, but can there be some kind of compromise?  I can see where you're coming from (and what Totodile's intention was), but the issue I see stems from the independence of the Pokemon.  In warpedplant's commands, I interpreted "attacks" as being physical or special moves that Wrath used (a status inflicting move or something along those lines would have been another judgement call).  I feel like Joe should have had the common sense to figure out that Wrath was not going in for a direct attack, as he had been ordered to watch out for, after Wrath had begun to construct her substitute.  It seems silly to me that he would wait for the entire process of creating a substitute before realizing that he didn't need to pause in the first place.  Of course, he wouldn't have noticed right away, but a Deino attacking seems like it would be fairly obvious after a few seconds, and in the flavour I did mention that Joe waited until Wrath actually started molding her substitute before using Pain Split.

Something like awarding Joe only partial recovery would make sense to me if that sounds better, but just negating the move entirely doesn't seem logical.  I guess it just doesn't feel right for a substitute to be built instantaneously, or for a partially built substitute to still block a move entirely.


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## Eifie (Jul 7, 2015)

Eta Carinae said:


> Point taken, but can there be some kind of compromise?  I can see where you're coming from (and what Totodile's intention was), but the issue I see stems from the independence of the Pokemon.  In warpedplant's commands, I interpreted "attacks" as being physical or special moves that Wrath used (a status inflicting move or something along those lines would have been another judgement call).  I feel like Joe should have had the common sense to figure out that Wrath was not going in for a direct attack, as he had been ordered to watch out for, after Wrath had begun to construct her substitute.  It seems silly to me that he would wait for the entire process of creating a substitute before realizing that he didn't need to pause in the first place.  Of course, he wouldn't have noticed right away, but a Deino attacking seems like it would be fairly obvious after a few seconds, and in the flavour I did mention that Joe waited until Wrath actually started molding her substitute before using Pain Split.
> 
> Something like awarding Joe only partial recovery would make sense to me if that sounds better, but just negating the move entirely doesn't seem logical.  I guess it just doesn't feel right for a substitute to be built instantaneously, or for a partially built substitute to still block a move entirely.


Unfortunately no, not in this case. Their base speeds are already so close together that some refs would be randomizing who acts first even in the normal case. Substitute isn't a negative-priority move, so it can't be taking such a long time to perform, and Pain Split isn't a positive-priority move, so it can't be happening instantaneously, either. The gray area between the priorities is for very obviously speedy moves (Agility, for instance) with a small speed difference, when those moves are explicitly commanded to be used in a reactive way. It's weird, yeah, that Substitute doesn't take as long as you'd think, just as there are several other weird things where, for example, a quick hit with Aerial Ace and something much slower like Sheer Cold both take an action even though seemingly you could get off more than one Aerial Ace in the time it takes to prep a Sheer Cold. This is a place where we'll have to stick with established rules, and it's very well established that when a Pokémon's orders are conditional on its opponent's actions it will be moving second. How discrete and separated Pokémon's moves should be has always been a pretty tricky area to navigate, but we do need to draw the line somewhere, and this situation happens to fall on the other side of it.

It's not really about the independence of Pokémon. I think it'll feel more logical if you're not having Pain Split happen instantaneously, because, as I said, it's not a positive priority move so no matter what it can't be happening _that_ fast. Joe would probably be frantically trying to prepare his move, hoping to get it off before Wrath completed her Substitute, but to ultimately no avail since he hesitated for those few precious seconds to see what Wrath was going to do.


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## Eta Carinae (Jul 8, 2015)

Alright, I can get behind Eifie's explanation with regards to priority (and not wanting to destroy precedent), so the reffing has been edited and is now much shorter for everyone's convenience.  That is most definitely a change in health percentages, so feel free to reorder Totodile.

Apologies for the confusion.


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## Totodile (Jul 8, 2015)

Thank you!

Okay, we're right on the edge here. He's still faster than us, so we'll have to be careful. If he tries to use Pain Split, go with Protect. If he doesn't, hit him with the move that's sure to hit him, Shock Wave - but if _he _Protects, make a Substitute. Only use Substitute once, though.

*Protect/Shock Wave/Substitute (10%)*


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## Eta Carinae (Jul 14, 2015)

DQ Warning for warpedplant.  24 hours to post.


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## Eta Carinae (Jul 15, 2015)

*warpedplant is disqualified*.  The db will handle prizes.


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